Convento do Carmo

The Gothic lines of the Church of Our Lady of Mount
Carmel went up on the orders of Nun'Álvares Pereira,
who helped Dom João I consolidate the rule of
Portugal’s second dynasty, the House of Avis.

Pereira, known as the Condestável, or Constable, founded the
church and convent to fulfill a pledge made before a
battle, and was adamant in his choice of location –
despite the nearby precipice and various false starts
after foundations caved in.

During the 1755 earthquake
the roof fell in on a crowd of All Saints' Day
worshipers, leaving the structure near collapse with
only the walls and some vault ribbing still standing.

Said by many to be the most beautiful church in
Lisbon, it has been left roofless ever since, and now a
grassy lawn carpets what was once the central nave.
The Archaeological Museum, a ragbag of finds from
around Europe, is in the back end of the church.